


Love Set Match

by remuslove777



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/M, Happy Ending, M/M, pining Sirius
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-07-23 16:56:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16163051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/remuslove777/pseuds/remuslove777
Summary: This story is set in alternate universe where Remus is a photographer working for Nat Geo and Sirius and James are Tennis Stars and Lily is a model cum doctor. Its a story about how Sirius' life, with he was perfectly content, thank you very much, suddenly changed from the moment he set his eyes on the tall and quite frankly the most breathtaking man he has ever seen! His heart will not lay still for a moment and Sirius knows what he must do, but will it work? Remus has his own issues going on and is not helping Sirius at all! If Sirius wants the man, and god he has never wanted anything more in his life, then he must do all the hardwork! Will they end up together?





	1. The Black Family History

**Author's Note:**

> Totally Random.

Sirius Black, the oldest son and consequently the heir, of the aristocratic family of Black was the ATP world number 1 Tennis champion. He has been number 1 for a while, until recently when the position seems to be flitting on and off between him and one James Potter. Sirius broke into the tennis scene very early, owing to his lineage. His family were famous for producing famous people in Tennis and occasionally Golf and Snooker. 

But tennis was their main fame and the sport that made the family, rich and famous and consequently earned them several aristocratic positions in years to come. Sirius' great great grandfather Phineas was the most famous player of his times both for his game and the number of titles he won and for his looks. Phineas was also the most respected Black due to his immense talent, the money he had made; by the sheer number of victories he claimed, model-looks and a personality that people either hated or loved. 

Among other things Phineas was shrewd, dominating and knew how to command. This made him an excellent business man post his retirement. Phineas made them one of the, if not the Richest family in Briton and in the world. They believed themselves to be royalty, acted like that and many times, by many people of the tennis, corporate and media world were treated like that as well. Following on Phineas' footsteps his son took up Tennis and their sons after that. 

The Blacks had been brought up to compete, amongst themselves and with the world to be the Number 1 always. This bred a deep mistrust and the blacks stuck together when it came to outsiders (and any one who is a non BLACK was not meant to be trusted). Thus the Blacks for generations had closed themselves off as much as possible. They were royalty and did not mix with anyone who wasn't at-least a millionaire, a real royalty or a BLACK. 

Internally, as well, there was a hierarchical struggle for importance and stature (Head of Black Family!) that would be bestowed. All this remained unspoken and it worked purely based on who took the Black family name the farthest. Set a high standard by their patriarch Phineas, each of his sons, his grandsons and their sons were put through the vigorous motion of living up to, if not beating his fame and popularity. The sons that gave up went on to play other sports like golf and snooker. 

Arcturus, Sirus' dad's dad commanded the Head of Black family stature. Cygnus, Sirius' mom Walburga's grandad was the head before that. Orion, also went on to become a famous tennis star and though he won several titles in his time, he never quite reached his dad's brilliance. Cygnus II, Walburga's brother almost lived up to his grandad's grandness and had only 2 more titles than Orion. 

He was defacto the head of the black for the generation but Walburga would argue that Orion and he were equally matched. And though people humoured her, partly because Arcturus's greatness and Orion's talents meant they still had the higher percentage of Black shares but also because Cygnus did not produce a son to continue whereas Walburga/Orion had 2! Walburga, was therefore determined to ensure one, if not both, her sons outdid their grandfather and stamped their branch as the Head of Black resoundingly. 

Though the brothers looked alike and very much like their grandfather, it was Sirius who was a near replica in every way. Infact, she had higher hopes for him. It was often said that Sirius was in temperament, talent and looks, the closest any Black heir had ever come to Phineus. Therefore, Walburga had a tighter grip on him. She wanted to be the woman who produced the greatest Black, so Sirius didn't have a choice but to get her that title. 

Such was the complexity of being Sirius Black. The man himself was content with his life, however. He had been disciplined, schooled and trained like crazy since he learnt how to walk. But he assumed it was for his good. He had everything he could ever want. So he went on to fulfil his dear mom's dearer than dearest desire. 

At the age of 17, he became the youngest tennis player to win the grand slam - winning all four major slams in the calendar year. It didn't escape anyone's notice as well, that Sirius Black was the most gorgeous looking tennis star to ever have walked the courts. Hell, to ever have walked the world! He put the F in famous. Media loved him, brands loved him, he made tennis a popular sport and the world loved him. 

He also had a girlfriend - Elizabeth. They had been friends from a young age, their parents were family friends. She was real royalty of course, why else would their parents be friends? Sirius liked her and she liked him and she was pretty and royalty and so he must date her. It was a given. Like everything else in his life was. And of course the media loved them and declared them to be made for each other. The Queen and her family were fond of Walburga and Orion and their sons. 

He had the perfect life. Sure, his mom had constructed it, and carefully controlled it, controls it in fact. But what was the problem if it was perfect? He was content in life. At 25, after almost 10 years of tennis, 5 of which he spent as world number 1, another of his records, amassing titles after titles, brand deals after deals, Sirius had already peaked.


	2. Befriending James Potter

It was at 24 that Sirius first encountered a real challenge on the courts. It was in the form of an easy-going but determined chap, who unlike Sirius broke through international ATP quite late. James Potter, the man from Australia was the only guy who could stand up to Sirius’s brilliance. It was at his hands that Sirius faced his first final’s defeat and what was only his second defeat in his entire career. Since that moment, they met consistently in finals and within a couple of years were quite evenly matched. James Potter even managed to dethrone Black from the number 1 position, albeit, briefly.

The Black family who had shrugged off the initial defeat as a fluke were now a little annoyed at someone else sharing the fame. For like Sirius, James had become quite popular and a darling with media. He was English but the Potters had been living in Australia since he was 14. His easy and friendly manners and his innate ability to charm and amuse everyone around made him an instant hit. Everyone loved him, from the ball boys/girls, to the audience and the media. Whilst they loved Sirius, in the way of being more in awe of him, James endeared himself to everyone in a more 'the guy next door', easily approachable manner. It was exactly that, that caught Sirius’s attention. And unlike his family, Sirius had soon become fond of the guy and they were actually getting along quite well on court. 

Soon the guys started casually hanging out post match, neither caring much about which one of them had won or lost that tournament. It definitely felt like the start of a great friendship. Sirius who thought he had friends suddenly realised that until then, he really didn’t have the kind of friend you could call your best mate. He found James funny and enjoyed spending time with him, seeing him goof around, being at ease with himself around everyone. Sirius was really in awe of that as he himself was never usually comfortable with all the media attention or the social circle he was in. He hadn’t realised until then but suddenly it seemed to him that he felt caged. And being around James Potter could help him out of his cage, even if for just a bit. 

Sirius’s family were not thrilled about Sirius’s friendship with James. However, they didn’t for the moment perceive any great disadvantage in it. In fact, James was popular and if Sirius and James didn’t get along, rumours of Blacks being sour losers might surface. So they allowed Sirius his friendship, which also happened to be his first independent decision. 

James Potter however had other best mates but he really liked Sirius a lot. Initially it was the draw of his talents on the field that drew James to befriend the Black heir. But as he hung out more with Sirius, he found a strange affection that stemmed from wanting to protect Sirius, who he thought was quite naive. There was also this urge in James to really show Sirius what living meant. He suspected that behind the perfect life, Sirius had never known genuine love, genuine happiness or joy. 

He never would mention it to Sirius but somehow seeing that guy who seemingly had everything but still seemed empty (even if he didn’t know it!) tugged at James heart. He felt Sirius deserved more and he decided he was going to help him see it. Even if it was a little presumptuous of James, it came from a good place, for the man was all heart. He was brought up in fun, happy, open and an extremely positive and healthy environment where nothing came above people’s happiness. And he had after all interpreted it right that Sirius’ own background was very different. 

In time, Sirius had met Mr and Mrs Potter and he instantly fell in love with them. And they with him. Mrs Potter was the warmest, most generous person he ever knew. And Mr Potter could easily be the personification of the word 'Fun'. He could completely see where James got his easy manners and happy disposition from. He wanted to hang out with the Potters as much as he could without coming across as too needy, imposing or weird. And as much as he loved James, he couldn't help being a little jealous of him. He would happily trader all of his trophies and everything with James, though he didn't dare say that out loud to anyone. 

Sirius also met and hung out with James' girl friend Lily and his school friend Peter. Lily was stunning, simply stating! With that height and that figure, she could have been a model easily. Heck, she was a part time one. But she was primarily a doctor. Lily loved every aspect of medicine. Saving lives was her favourite hobby, mission and goal in life. She was on course to becoming a great surgeon, beamed James on many occasions. What James and Lily had, thought Sirius, was unlike anything he had ever seen in the relationship arena. They were with each other because they were proud of each other. They were crazy about each other. They doted on each other and they knew each other inside out. If Sirius ever caught himself comparing that to his relationship with Elizabeth, he immediately shoved it under an imaginary carpet. He was happy for James and Lily and he loved hanging out with them. 

Peter on the other hand ran his own small business of T-shirt Merchandise. James Potters friendship came in handy as he tried to cash on James popularity and his closeness to him in many of his marketing campaigns. Occasionally Lily, and even less occasionally James would get irritated by his constant nagging of something or the other but James was the most patient guy Sirius had seen. Peter was of course even more in awe of Sirius and was most likely, na, most definitely, plotting some scheme to put Sirius to better use for his T-shirt merchandise. But for now, James held him back and Sirius was thankful for it. He didn’t like being used much and he wanted to avoid Peter as much as possible without offending James in doing so. 

They apparently had another friend, Remus as well, whom Sirius had not met yet. But Lily and James always spoke about him and Sirius knew almost everything about Re, as they referred to him. Re was always travelling for work and had a 4 year old son. Re was a daredevil, some sort of adventure junkie. Re was a little quite and reserved. Re was this and Re was that. Truth be told, he was getting tired of Re. I mean he did feel sorry for the man given his history, but honestly the way the two of them went on about him, you would be surprised if he was not some sort of super hero! 

Sirius didn’t like hanging out with Peter whom he had met and he wouldn’t like hanging out with Re, he was sure, even though he had not met him. And to add to that Re had a kid and Sirius didn’t like kids. They were loud, demanded attention and threw tantrums. He didn’t want them and he didn’t want to hang around with anyone who had them. 

But Sirius was happy for James friendship and they had formed this little tradition of meeting with Potter family once a month for dinner with Lily and occasionally Peter or one or 2 of James other friends most of whom he got along ok. 


	3. Mourning Remus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter provides a quick backstory to Remus's life and his friendship with James and Lily

Over the course of time, Sirius had learnt that it was Re who helped James get a sense of direction. James was naturally good at many things but he was always lost. He liked playing all the sports, he liked doing everything which was great. 

And he was good at all of those things. But that also meant he didn’t know which way to go. James always credited Re and his friendship and his encouragement in him choosing tennis as his path. Though you would never guess, James was initially a little skeptical of his chances, as he felt he had already wasted time in dabbling about and hence felt he wouldn’t become successful. 

But again Re, who was now probably mentioned at millionth and one time, Sirius rolled his eyes, was the one who encouraged him. In fact it was his cunning that pushed James. Re had promised James, a date with Lily apparently if he went out there and got into the quarters of the slam 3 years ago. 

Of course, despite her many denials in the year prior to that, Lily wasn’t really opposed to dating James, but Re felt he didn’t need to know that. Thus the clever genius that Re was he motivated James to get over his own doubts and become the star player that he was. Sirius was beginning to get a Remus related headache now. 

A year from then of course tragedy had struck and Re lost his wife and he had not been able to be there in person in the tournaments to support James. Which is also why, sadly, Sirius had not yet gotten a chance to meet him, said James, which vexed him greatly. 

Sirius had learnt that Re’s wife Mia and Lily were friends from school. Mia was the daughter of a very rich industrialist in Australia. Her family and Mia were lovely, down to earth sort of people. 

Re had met Lily in one of the shoots and had instantly become friends. Mia had hung out with Lily and Re once and they had fallen in love by the end of the night. Within a year, Mia had gotten pregnant. Initially Re was hesitant - he wasn’t settled yet, he was too young and his job required him to travel etc., he had tried to reason. But the combined power of Mia’s passionate love for him, Lily’s logical counter arguments and James easy going support saw them being married and giving birth to an absolutely adorable Teddy Lupin! 

A couple of years later, however unfortunately, Mia had passed away owing to some mysterious heart condition which was quite rare. Her death had broken a lot of hearts. Mia was like James, she managed to be loved by everyone. She was the life and soul of any gathering and she loved everyone warmly and openly, without reserve. 

But apart from her parents to whom she was the only child, the 2 people who were most devastated were Lily and of course, Remus. Lily had herself taken it personally that she couldn’t save her best friend and had vowed to become the best heart surgeon there ever will be. But her death had brought Re and her even closer, Lily said, and now Re was her brother, her best friend and her everything as James was, although not quite in the same way. 

James was sad that his travelling for the tennis circuit and Re’s travelling for his work hardly gave them face to face time. And Lily worried that Re was using his travel and work as an excuse to shove his grief under a thick blanket. Re argued that he needed to get over quickly for the sake of his son. 

But a light had gone out of his life and he felt he could never love anyone else again. He didn’t need to. IT didn’t matter that Mia was not around for him to love. He would pour all his love for Mia to his son, whom he already loved very much. Re’s parents, James and Lily and even Mia’s parents worried that this was going to be a problem. 

Re was far too attached to his son, didn’t talk much of his grief and generally put on an air of casual non chalance around them. But he was fooling no one with that! He was avoiding the feeling of loss and Lily did her best to spend as much time with him and Teddy as she could manage between her stressful job and being with James as well. 

Sirius said he was sorry for Re’s loss and added half heartedly that he was sorry to not have gotten a chance to meet their dear Re yet. However he did add that he didn’t really mind as he was not great at meeting new people. And that from what he has learnt, Re was very different and they may not get along as well. James rubbished it, everyone got along with Re apparently. Everyone loved Re and his adorable Teddy. 

Sirius nodded but just kept his thoughts on this subject to himself. It was not lost on James however that his new friend didn’t seem all that keen to meet his oldest friend. And his oldest friend right not was probably not inclined to making new friends either nor did an opportunity of them meeting any time soon was looking likely. 


	4. Tall Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius falls head over heels for a tall stranger :)

Tall Stranger

It was a crisp October evening in New York. Sirius had stayed back in the city for a month and half after the last slam of the year. He had a lot of brand contracts to be fulfilled and most of them were on this side of the Atlantic so he figured it was easier to stay in NYC instead of flying back and forth from London. And it was Autumn and Sirius loved the east coast during this season! He loved this season! 

Sirius was shooting for the perfume brand that he has been associated with for the last 6 months. This was only his second shoot for the brand. They were almost finished and the photographer had just wanted a few more shots with the sunset backdrop on the roof top they were shooting on. As Sirius was getting his last touch up for the evening, he saw a stranger walk in to the sets.

Sirius turned around about to get ready for the shot and he caught full sight of the stranger talking to the photographer Benjy. Sirius didn’t know or understand what he felt or what had happened to him that moment. His eyes defocussed, he couldn’t see anything clearly. He felt faint and he could distinctly feel his heart beat race up like they were running late for the last train home! All he knew was that stranger was absolutely the most beautiful person he had ever set his eyes on.

The man was tall, taller than James, who was really tall. He wore an off-white buttoned down light denim shirt with the sleeves rolled up casually and a baggy blue denim. He was not classically handsome, if one examined his individual features. Except his eyes. They were green with amber specs. My god! He had never seen eyes like that before. And his hair, a beautiful honey color that complemented his tanned skin perfectly. Tthe way his features came together on his face gave him a rugged look making him more handsome than should be allowed! 

Sirius was completely dumb struck by the stranger that he didn’t realise he was staring at him, mouth slightly parted. His stomach did something funny when he noticed the man casually glance in his direction. It hadn’t been for more than a second that the stranger’s eyes may have been on him. But Sirius felt himself melting into those river like eyes on the autumnal face. And then the stranger did something unpardonable. Something he never should have been allowed to do. He smiled at something Benjy was saying to him and Sirius could swear that he would not survive another sight of that smile. 

Goddammit, all this should not have made Sirius feel the way he did. But god, it did. He hadn’t realised that he had never been attracted to anyone half as much as he was to that man in front of him. It didn’t even occur to him until much later that evening that this was in fact the first time he had ever been attracted to anyone, man or woman!

Once the man had left, Benjy came up to finish the shoot, apologising for the short delay. Sirius was in no state to say anything and he was sure the final shot would not have been approved had Benjy not wanted to leave. He had mentioned that he was going out for some drinks with the friend who just left. The mention of the said friend sent a quick and random shiver down Sirius’s back. If Benjy wondered why Sirius was suddenly looking like a lost puppy, he didn’t bring it up. 

It was not that late but Sirius didn’t go for the walk he had decided on earlier and headed straight to his room. He was suddenly feeling things he had never felt before and he needed to sit down or lie down to be able to process them.


	5. Say Hello to the Stranger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius can't stop thinking about the stranger. He also ends up meeting Remus and Teddy!

Sirius woke up to a bright Autumn day and a very excited text from James. Sirius could literally see the energy and excitement ooze out from the text and only James could manage that. The content of the text however did not excite Sirius very mcuh. James was on this side of the world as well with Lily. And guess what with his best friend Re and his son Teddy. And Sirius had to absolutely meet them. 

Sirius absolutely loved hanging out with James and Lily. But given that he wanted a break from everything, enjoy the autumn in the coast on his own, he wasn’t really to happy about this prospect. Not to mention that he didn’t really enjoy hanging out with kids and parents and that he found all the Remus adoration grating. And added to that, his head was still full of that stranger. 

Truth be told, he really just wanted to curl up in bed, think about the stranger and think of ways for that stranger to be curled up with him preferably. Sirius surprised himself with that thought. He sighed and figured he didn’t have a way out of this, not with someone like James. And it might be good to talk to James about these strange feelings he were having for a stranger. Though how he would broach that topic he wasn’t sure but James was the only one he would be comfortable broaching it with. 

“Tomorrow, drinks,” responded Sirius and hoped that James in his excitement would not notice the lack of his. Before he could put his phone down though the message popped up, “cool, James and me will see you for drinks and then we have dinner with Re and Teddy - Lily.”. Sirius sighed, Lily always had the last word. He couldn’t say no now even if he tried. 

Sirius spent the rest of the day and the following, jogging in the park, finishing up some brand work and lost in thought. At 6.00 he arrived at the very dapper bar that he frequents when in town, Dear Irving. James and Lily had just arrived looking very relaxed and happy. Lily gave the new within 5 minutes, she was pregnant. Congratulations and happiness for them flowed easily from Sirius and they settled into a friendly repertoire of exchanging news, bantering and silences. 

After about 45 minutes, Sirius blurted out “I met someone!”. He didn’t know why he chose those words or what to say next. James stared at him dumbly whilst Lily looked on curiously. “Elaborate,” said James simply when no more words or any kind of sound came out of Sirius. Sirius who was fidgeting and squirming had no idea what to say. “I didn’t meet meet, I saw some one a couple of days ago. I have never felt what I felt, the way I felt that moment with any one else.” James and Lily exchanged a glance before Lily placed a comforting hand on his knee and said with much tenderness and affection, “That’s great Sirius. Tell us more about her”. Sirius grimaced and after a long pause said “Him.”

Sirius looked up after what felt like eternity to see warmth in James eyes and smile on Lily’s face. This is why he loved these 2, he reminded himself. And then there was no stopping him as he waxed lyrical about the beauty of the said stranger. He ended sadly though, “I know nothing can come of it. I am with Vicky and I am the Black heir and heck I don’t even know the guy or that if I will ever see him and even if I did, if he is into men, single, into me. Its hopeless”. 

James couldn’t disagree but he didn’t say so, not wanting to bring Sirius down. He saw a spark in Sirius eyes that had been missing so far, which he credited to this stranger. Lily on the other hand thought differently. She genuinely believed that if 2 people were meant to be together they will be together. And she added with a devilish smile that she is getting the feeling that Sirius is meant to be with this mysterious stranger. 

They spent another hour in happy camaraderie, most of which involved the potters teasing him. It was almost time for Re and his kiddo to be here, he had texted to say he was almost there. Sirius took a short bio break and he came back to find a cute small boy sitting on James’ lap laughing at the trick James was showing the kid. Re was on the phone informed Lily, which earned an eye roll from Sirius. Lily had noticed Sirius tended to do that a lot when Re’s name was mentioned and she simply laughed. 

Re, the photographer, was here on an assignment. He was going to cover graffitis in the major cities in North America along with a couple of other photographer friends of his on an one of kind assignment. He was going to be away travelling from city to city for 6 weeks and he didn’t want to stay away from Teddy for so long. So he had brought him along, taken him to Disney world before reaching New York. From here on, he was going to go do his work whilst Teddy got back home to his grandparents with Lily and James the following day. Re was just sorting out last minute details of his trip, Sirius, Lily had purred. Whatever, Sirius had responded. 

James introduced Sirius to Teddy who looked at him curiously. Sirius was however a little too uncomfortable with kids and had not known what to do or how to react. So he just waved, shrugged, pouted. Teddy had burst out laughing as had James and Lily at Sirius’s obvious discomfort. Just then, Sirius stopped breathing, his pupils completely dilated and he had grown pale. As the tall stranger stood in front of their table smiling at all of them. 

“Hey Sirius, how are you?”, the stranger had said easily. “geddguus”, Sirius had replied. That earned him an eye roll from Lily, a curious look from the stranger and a fresh bout of laughter from James and Teddy. “Re, don’t mind. Sirius doesn’t like anyone else getting the attention and he is grumpy because Teddy is the cutest thing here and not him,” James teased. 

“Oh I wouldn’t say that,” winked Re, “He is about as cute as Teddy and easily the prettiest thing here.” Sirius could just die right there and go to heaven. The tall stranger he had been obsessing over found him pretty. Wait, did they just call the tall stranger he was obsessing over, Re? He looked up, red from the compliment, pale from being in close proximity with the stranger and entirely comical due to the confused expression on his face. 

If Re had noticed all this, he didn’t comment but continued to smile easily at him as though waiting for him to say something. He gave up after about 2 minutes of Sirius just staring at him. He was jolted back to his senses from a sharp kick from Lily who was looking at him confused and angry. It had however still not occurred to Sirius that he hadn’t yet responded to the greeting from Re, properly. He didn’t think he would be able to survive 5 minutes let alone the entire dinner.


	6. Sirius Falls Hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sirius falls hard, despite Remus catching hold of him or probably because of that! Poor Sirius, no one should go through this! Not fair!

Sirius woke up feeling a strange sense of elation and dejection at the same time. What was this feeling? He was tired of wondering about it and he was sure his head, his heart, his body was going to implode. But he couldn’t stop. Stop thinking about Remus. The way he laughed easily or seemed to be always smiling. Though the smile never reached his beautiful eyes. Except when it had something to do with Teddy. The man adored his son, that much was obvious.

Sirius let out a deep sigh. How was he going to get over this? None of this made any sense. He was with Victoria. He had never ever ever been attracted to a man before. Let alone a man with a kid. Sirius didn’t like kids. I mean, of course Teddy was cute and all that. But he wouldn’t know what to do with Teddy if he was alone. And besides, he wanted to have adult conversations and do adult things. 

Besides, Remus was James and Lily’s best mate. James and Lily were his only real friends in life. He didn’t want to make things awkward with them or end up losing them altogether. In any case he was most likely going to lose them in about 10 months, considering the news they had given him! 

Sirius let out a deep groan and pulled his duvet over his eyes and moaned for a while. Why did this have to happen now. When he was finally enjoying his life in ways he had never before? Now things would be back to how they were. He would meet his ‘friends’ - acquaintances whom you meet out of courtesy to be polite and maintain network and decorum. 

He would probably end up spending more time with Victoria now that he would have nothing else to do or no other friends. Not that she wasn’t nice to be with. But there was never any excitement or joy when he was with her. It all felt like a movie in which he was playing the part of the hero. And for this he blamed Remus. And just like that he was back to visualising that man. Those eyes that seemed so deep like the ocean whose color it took. The hair that twisted and curled without any sense or direction. Those hands that held the little boy Teddy, that seemed so strong and comfortable. That toned body under the shirt and those long legs.

He jumped out of bed and rushed out of the room to jog, afraid that if he stayed in any longer those thoughts about Remus would actually kill him. He ran for god knows how long and he had completely tired himself out. He looked up and realised he had no idea where he had reached and how he had reached there. 

He ran upto the corner of the street to figure out exactly how far he had come when a man on on a Segway bumped into him almost knocking him off. He was being held by him arms by a strong grip and the man’s Segway had rolled over a little further.

Somehow Sirius didn’t need to open his eyes to know who that ‘idiot’ who bumped into him was. His heart was already thumping in his chest, partly from the run but mostly from the touch of the man there. This is really not what Sirius wanted or needed at the moment. After what seemed like an eternity, Sirius opened his eyes and found himself staring into those ridiculously gorgeous green eyes, the amber specs glowing in the sunlight. 

He was dragged up and steadied on his feet by Remus who was smiling at him teasingly. “You alright there, Princess?”, chuckled Remus even as he walked unto to bring his segway back. He turned around and looked puzzled at Sirius’s expression. Sirius, who was staring at him partly wanting to run away and partly wanting to strangle him but mostly wanting to jump at him and snog the hell out of that smile. 

Sirius was jolted back to his senses as a couple more guys on their seaways reached the spot. One of them happened to be Benjy, the photographer he had worked with. Of course, Remus knew him. Of course they were working together on this graffiti project. Of course, that’s why Remus had come to the studio that day. 

They were going to get some breakfast after their 3 hour gruelling morning photography session. And of course Sirius should join them. And of course, Sirius, who if he had one iota of good sense would have bolted from there, did join them. And god did he hate Remus for smiling so much. What would it take, apart from Sirius snogging him senseless, to make the man stop smiling? The third man, whose name Sirius missed earlier said something which made Remus blush. God dammit. He did not need this. Not today, not any time. 

Sirius kept his head down most of the time. He really could not bear to look at Remus.   
After some more small talk mostly about their morning photography and some art or the other, they ate their breakfast in silence. Benjy who was looking at Sirius curiously asked Sirius what he thought of the shoot and some more small talk ensued. 

As they paid up and were ready to leave, Gideon, the third fellow’s name, Sirius realised, said something that made Sirius freeze on the spot. Wait, he did not just insinuate that Benjy and Remus were a thing? He caught sight of Remus and the blush from before had reappeared and Benjy for his part was beaming. Oh shit, Remus was dating Benjy? But why did that make Sirius feel like this. He hardly knew the man. This was getting more and more ridiculous by the minute. 

The only thing Sirius was sure of was he never wanted to see Remus again. He just wanted Remus to be a figment of his imagination. A dream. Anything but reality. He. Cannot. Handle. This. Yet, Remus stood there, squinting into his phone and Sirius knew he was fucked!


	7. Sirius Struggles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh my, Sirius is digging his own grave. Who is going to save the poor guy?

In the coming days, Sirius finished up most of his work. He decided it was time to head back home. His parents were anxious to see him. Victoria and her family, the queen and her husband that is were anxious to see him. All this left him with a nagging feeling. His crush on Remus was still a big botheration. So the best course of action he decided was to head back home, focus on his tennis for the upcoming seasons and his girlfriend with whom he had hardly spent any time in the last few months. Remus and his stupidly beautiful warm smile and those annoying soul piercing green eyes will all fade out, he promised himself. 

And so it was. Sirius got back home and everything was as it used to be. For a week. Then the Blacks were dining out with the royals and Sirius had a feeling something was up. And before he could realise what was happening, everyone was congratulating him. But for what? Sirius didn’t understand, until his mother thrust a huge solitaire in his hand and nudged him towards Vic. He was supposed to be proposing to his girlfriend, his front of his family. And it was a surprise even for him. 

As was usually the case, Sirius hadn’t resisted his family’s plans for him. And though the rest of the evening was blank, Sirius woke up the next day feeling vague and completely disconnected from himself and everything. Sirius wasn’t really Sirius, he was the actor playing the role of the Black Heir. And Sirius wasn’t really sure how he could get out of the movie. And if he did, who would he even be? Where would he go? What would he do? At it was at that moment Sirius knew he didn’t really know himself at all. 

Over the next couple of weeks Sirius went about the usual motions of his life with a practised ease. Much like playing tennis. It was like a muscle memory. Things just flowed easily from practise and no one could tell anything was wrong. Well there wasn’t anything wrong, except everything seemed wrong to Sirius. He knew that he couldn’t go on like this and yet he didn't know what else to do. 

In a whim, that wasn’t usual for Sirius, he decided to go to Australia. He reasoned that in a couple of months he will be playing there, he better go and get used to the weather and the courts. A convenient lie that his parents lapped up and greatly cheered Sirius up. For about 10 minutes that is. His spirits came crashing down, when his mother suggested that he take his fiancé along and mix up some royal tours along with Tennis. Dammit. Too late now, there was no getting out of it. 

 

After a few days, Sirius and Vic took the long flight out of London on their personal jet, most of which Sirius pretended to be asleep. Vic was a really pretty, mild mannered and a generally nice girl. She really liked Sirius a lot. She believed she loved him. She wasn’t told and didn’t know otherwise. Sirius on the other hand was starting to become his own person and he was starting to realise his feelings, or lack of for Vic. He was also still struggling with his not so appropriate feelings for a certain photographer, dad, not so mild mannered fella. 

The irony of the situation was not lost on Sirius, who suddenly burst out laughing at the idea of eloping into the night with his prince charming leaving a very bemused royal family and a very angry family of Blacks behind. It was a cute picture, but not one ever likely to come true. So Sirius had to snap out of this stupid day dream, put Remus behind, possibly avoid James and Lily and focus on Victoria. There was nothing else to be done. 

With such thoughts as these Sirius and Victoria landed in Melbourne. They were to spend some time in Melbourne, go on some royal tours, spend some time in Sydney and Adelaide before heading back to Melbourne 20 days before the tournament. He hadn’t let James and Lily know he was going to be there. He didn’t want to meet them. He didn’t want to have to tell them about his engagement. He didn’t want to feel like the Sirius he was rather than the Sirius he was meant to be. And most of all, he definitely, most certainly did not want to hear the name Remus, let alone accidentally meet him. After all Remus would also be back home from his North American assignment as well. But hey, who said he was keeping track?


	8. Misunderstanding Brewing?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which they all hang out, everyone becomes friends and everyone misunderstands Sirius's struggles. Maybe its for the best?

On Day 3 of their stay in Melbourne, Sirius received a call. Of course James and Lily knew he was there with all the media hoopla. Of course they were pissed off that Sirius hadn’t told them. Of course he and Victoria were going to be having dinner with the Potters soon.

Sirius was enjoying his trip so far. He was totally concentrating on his game and was very happy to spend the rest of the time off courts with his fiance. He was most definitely not disappointed that Remus wasn’t at the dinner. And he was ecstatic to have not bumped into him accidentally anywhere or have Remus join him and James for a drink that evening. Hell he had almost forgotten what Remus looked like. He most definitely did not obsessively think about those green eyes.

James who was happy for Sirius about his engagement was warned by Lily to not bring up the fact that they could totally see through Sirius’s act of being happy. James had always know nSirius’s life was not what he made it seem. He knew something was bothering Sirius and he was even more so than normally completely disconnected and distracted from his personal life. But he decided not to bring it up just yet. 

Sirius was meant to tour the rest of the country. They had decided to meet up in Sydney for a few days. James and Lily could do with some Sydney sun in the Bondi and they would get to know Vic a little better as well. Sirius was glad for their company. Sirius was happy with the way things were going. This was for the best. Until of course, James called him upon landing in Sydney informing him that Remus would also join them with Teddy and he hoped that Sirius didn’t mind. 

Remus would not be in Sirius’s way of course. Remus and Lily and James would hang out giving him personal time with Vic and the rest of the time James and Lily could hang out with Sirius and Vic. Of course James hadn’t realised that Sirius had completely stopped listening the moment Remus’s name was mentioned and had stopped breathing when James said Remus was going to be there to. 

“Sirius, you there. Sirius?” James barked into the phone. But Sirius could only manage a low grunt in response. Jesus Christ, this is exactly what he had wanted even if he would never admit it to himself again. “Yeah, of course” Sirius whispered, hopefully his voice not betraying any emotion. Shit! The mere mention of that man had Sirius’s heart doing somersault. How was he going to manage spending a few days with him. In the beach. Would he get to see Remus swimming in the beach? Would he get to laze around in the sun, listening to the man without listening, watch him laugh and smile? Would he get through all that without dying first? 

Over the next 48 hours Sirius was like a nervous and excited puppy waiting in anticipation of meeting Remus. Everyone on Sirius’s team and Vic noticed but put it down to nerves before the match even though there was still some time to go for the tournament to start. James, Lily, Remus and Teddy arrived and checked in to the hotel. Vic fell in love with Teddy soon and they became fast friends. Vic was very good with kids and Sirius felt happy and a twinge of guilt seeing her playing with Teddy. He noticed Remus looking at them with fondness in his eyes and he desperately tried to suppress the twinge of jealousy he was feeling. It was terribly inconvenient that Lily noticed it too. 

Things were going as well as possible considering Sirius’s feelings. Despite what James had said and planned originally they all ended up spending a lot of their time together. Vic was happy to keep Teddy company which meant Remus was free to hang out with Sirius. Sirius was surprised how easy it was to talk to Remus, even easier than James at times. Of course his feelings for him complicated things but he was sure that if he didn’t feel that way, Remus could be one of his best mates. 

Remus was confused with Sirius however. At times the man was friendly, open and uninhibited. But suddenly he would just recoil into his shell and look stricken and lost like a puppy. James had noticed it too. Remus also couldn’t help noticing how close Vic had gotten to Teddy. He liked Vic and thought she was a sweet girl. He mentioned this to Sirius who looked at him with an expression that was half way between frustration and confusion and he avoided Remus for the rest of the afternoon. Such things kept happening at regular intervals confusing Remus, intriguing James and making Lily’s brain work overtime. 

Vic noticed a change in Sirius too. He was being extremely moody, almost bipolar. Extremely happy, followed by deep sadness or extreme irritation. She had never noticed such extreme moods in Sirius. She had never seen him so happy before. And she had most definitely not seen him so nervous before. Sirius was rarely nervous about anything but the past few days his anxiety and nervousness was palpable. She was met with a smile and a shrug that suggested it was nothing when she brought it up with Sirius. Vic dropped the subject there. She wasn’t the type to push. 

But Sirius’s behaviour was becoming increasingly strange even to her. Why Sirius erupted when she mentioned how nice Remus is and how much he loves Teddy, she did not understand. Sirius seemed to get on fine with Remus from what she saw. Why then did he suddenly find the mention of Remus irritating. Why did he feel like Vic always spoke about Remus and he has had enough of the man. Unfortunately or was it fortunate that, Sirius didn’t know which, she came to the wrong conclusion. The same wrong conclusion that Lily had come to, which was very unusual for her, must be the all the pregnancy hormones. Both the ladies had presumed that Sirius was a little jealous of Remus’s fondness for Vic. 

Lily decided that Vic and Sirius should spend some quality time together and Vic readily agreed. She was sad to not be able to be around Teddy but the conclusion she had drawn from Sirius’s earlier outburst had made her happy. She didn’t think Sirius would be jealous. He had never been before. That must mean Sirius did love her after all. Sirius was not happy either as that meant he couldn’t be around Remus but was also relieved to be not around that man. IT was becoming increasingly difficult to be around without wanting to lunge at him and snog the hell out of him. Or to run his hands over that lean but strong trunk or to run his hands through those curls or simply drown in those eyes. So Vic and Sirius went on their date leaving the rest of them lounging by the sea.

“Remus, what do you think of Sirius.” Lily asked as they both sat there watching Teddy build a sand castle with James. Remus was a little taken aback by the suddenness of the question but recovered quickly. “He is nice…Er…a little weird sometimes but he is rather sweet actually. Somehow I didn't expect that.” Lily nodded in agreement. “He seems to be struggling with some sort of crisis. I don’t know what it is Lily but it seems like his heart is elsewhere. Have you guys ever spoken to him about it?” Asked Remus. Though Remus was quite oblivious to what was happening around him most times, he did surprise Lily with his ability to understand people quite easily. 

“James and me have been wanting to but we don’t know how to. I am not sure it is entered right for us to assume things about Sirius and broach things that are too personal.” Lily looked up at Remus smiling. “Vic seems like a nice girl. She loves Teddy.”   
Remus smiled fondly at that “Yes. She does. But that’s why I feel its important for Sirius to be clear about what he wants. I can see he cares for Vic. But …” Remus trailed. 

“Remus, do you think he doesn’t like Vic?” Lily queried “I thought that he seemed rather jealous of your fondness for Vic and her fondness for you and Teddy.” Remus laughed heartily at that. “Really? You think? I mean I don’t know if he is jealous or not. I am sure he like Vic. But somehow I get the feeling that he is not in to her, Lily.” 

After a few minutes of silence “If you think he is being jealous then I will be a little more careful of course in my interaction with Vic” Remus added. Lily just laughed as Teddy came running to drag them both to show them the sand castle he had built. 

Remus had been thinking about the conversation he had had with Lily as he was running in the beach next morning when he stumbled into Sirius. Sirius looked at him, the fall distracting from his own thoughts that were clearly running deep. They looked at each other for a while still recovering from their thoughts and Sirius just jogged away without saying a word and before Remus could say anything leaving a very confused Remus staring after him. Maybe Lily was right. Maybe Sirius thought Remus was interested in Vic. He laughed at that thought before coming back to the hotel for some breakfast. 

A little later Sirius and Vic joined the 4 of them - James, Lily, Remus and Teddy for breakfast. Teddy was mostly playing with another kid from a nearby table leaving the adult to their conversation which mostly revolved around the romantic date Vic and Sirius were on the previous night. Everyone noticed but no one addressed Sirius’s silence and his absolute refusal to meet Remus’ eyes. Lily looked at Remus curiously and Remus just shrugged in return. 

James and Vic kept the conversation flowing which now had somehow strangely ended up in Remus’s love life. Great, thought Sirius. James had mentioned that Remus had been to the same restaurant that these guys had been to last night and the date hadn’t ended up well for Remus. Vic was curious to know why. Remus was blushing, Lily was laughing, James was happy to divulge and Sirius wanted to yet did not want to hear the story. 

The date was a rich industrialist friend of Mia’s dad. He was a young, well young for someone to be a business tycoon, but annoying man in his late 30s. His name was Gilderoy and though he was good looking and dressed well, Remus had hated him as he was full of himself. He had only went on the date to oblige his father in law as the man was obsessed with wanting to take Remus on a date. 

Remus had planned with James to fake an emergency an hour (after much negotiation on what would be an appropriate time without raising suspicision) into the date. However things didn’t work out as planned as Gilderoy had refused to let Remus skip the date, suggesting he would send an entire hospital to look after James who had faked an illness and needed to be taken care of as his doctor girlfriend and parents were out of town. 

Everyone was in splits and James continued to detail the horrible date story which only apparently got worse. But Sirius had stopped listening the moment he heard that Remus was on a date with a bloke. That meant Remus was Bi. That meant. What the hell did that mean? It did not mean that Sirius had a chance. Sirius did not want a chance. This was a piece of information he really really really could have lived without. 

Sirius got up, midstory, with such force that he knocked out the glass and cutlery fro the table breaking the glass and shocking the others around. His eyes met Remus for first time that morning at breakfast and before Remus could see and make sense of anything Sirius once again bolted from the place leaving them all stunned. 

They all sat there, looking from one to the other and the only conclusion they could all come to was that Sirius really had some issue with Remus. Why didn’t Sirius like Remus? What did Remus do to Sirius? Who was going to broach this topic with Sirius?


	9. Should He Play?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More angst for Poor Sirius. The story will move forward in the next few chapters I promise. this is going to be a slow burn, for one of them at least.

Sirius to no one’s surprise spent the next day trying to avoid everyone. He had refused to talk to Victoria either. The next day they all flew out, in different flights to Melbourne. Sirius spent his time focussing on his matches. That is to say that he tried to. And failed. All he could think of was Remus. How his whole face lit up when he smiled. His eyes, though they always had a deep sadness to them, were so beautiful and seemed to study everything deeply. Yet, Remus always seemed relaxed and friendly. Warm and inviting. Handsome and sexy…

Sirius stopped his practise when he heard his opponent, his coach yell at him. He had missed 8 of the last 10 shots and hadn’t even realised. His coach had given him several lectures over the last few days and he couldn’t recall one word. The tournament was due to start in a couple of days and Sirius was almost considering faking an injury and withdrawing from it. 

Sirius was having dinner, sitting with Victoria but not a word had been spoken between them. Sirius had stopped Vic from saying anything and had kept the conversations to the minimum. He had claimed he wanted to focus on the competition. But this time, even Vic knew that it was something else. But she didn’t press him. She thought, best to speak to him once the tournament was done. Remus would be far away as well and they may not meet him again. At least not for a while. Unbeknownst to her, Sirius seemed to be thinking the same thing. Would he ever meet Remus again? And after the last time they met, Sirius wondered if the man would ever want to spend anytime with him. It made Sirius deeply sad and angry but he thought it would be a big relief to never see the man again. 

As usual then James walked in that moment with Remus in toe. James looked unsure of what to do for a second. Sirius noticed the 2 men exchange a glance before James walked over to him. Remus stood a little distance away and waved sweetly at them, smiling fondly at Vic who returned his greeting with equal warmth. Sirius wanted to jump on the man and snog the hell out of that smile. He was so intently staring at Remus that James had to repeat himself 3 times “You alright Sirius? Sirius? Hey? You ok?”. ‘Err..yeah. yeah I am good. Just a bit tired from the practise, is all.” Sirius lied, finally looking away. 

“Remus and me always come here for dinner before every tournament start since I won the first one 3 years ago. You know it was my first win against you and my first grand slam. And it was Remus who brought me here and talked me up the whole evening.” James reminisced. He would have gone on, when Remus cleared his throat as a way of interruption. “Well anyway, enjoy your dinner Sirius. See you on court!” James waved. Remus and James were shown to their seats, 3 tables away. As fate would have it, from where Sirius sat, he could get a view of Remus easily and it was not a view Sirius could or even wanted to resist. The rest of dinner Sirius sat and stared at Remus. He had had 3 cups of coffee just so he could stay a bit longer. The guys finished their dinner and were heading out when Sirius and Vic left as well. ‘You still here?” James asked surprise. “hmmm… yeah I was pumping up with some coffee. Hey Remus.” Sirius said as casually as he could. Everyone looked surprised. “Hey Sirius. Hows it going? All set?” Remus responded, equally casually. “Ya. Yeah. Yeah…all set” Sirius mentally cursed himself for his eloquence. “Can I have a word?” He asked, looking at Remus, who was looking at Vic who was looking at James who was looking at Sirius. “Yeah..sure..”Remus drawled out unsurely. They walked on in the front whilst Vic hung back with James chatting about Lily, Teddy and James match. 

After walking quietly for a few minutes, Sirius could no longer bear the silence. “Listen, about the other night,” he started. Remus shook his head “Sirius, don’t worry about it. That’s the last thing you should be thinking about. The tournament starts in a few days. If you win this, you will have four straight wins at the slams.” Sirius heart expanded with more love than he possibly could imagine. 

“Look. You were upset and we were going on about unnecessary things and you were probably tired. Its perfectly understandable.” The man went on. Sirius was staring into those big green eyes, sincerity of the words spoken shone in them. Slams and everything else be damned. What would he not do for time to freeze then. “Just one thing Sirius. I am sorry if you thought I was being a little over friendly with Vic. Its just she loves Teddy so much and Teddy has grown attached to her too in our time at Sydney. That’s all. I am sorry if you thought I was crossing a line.” Remus finished. 

Sirius’s shocked expression confused Remus. “Sirius? Hey? Sirius? I am sorry, I am sorry I brought it up. Forget it, will you. Good luck for you match. You know we all want you to win. Even James. But he won’t make it easy for you, mind.’ Remus tried to relax Sirius. “Its not that. Its not that at all. Remus……Remus I really wish,,you would…I could….” Remus had never seen anyone that distraught and torn as Sirius in that moment. Was Sirius crying? Were those really tears in his eyes? “Hey! Hey Sirius, come on. Its ok. Its going to be ok.” Remus comforted. 

He didn’t know what was bothering the man but he knew something was. And he did what came naturally to him. He hugged Sirius and Sirius gratefully melted into the hug, throwing his arms around Remus’s waist. He would have stayed there, in Remus’s embrace like that forever, had James and Vic not interrupted. “What’s going on? Is Sirius ok?” questioned James. Sirius wiped his eyes before turning around and flashing a fake smile. “Yes, everything’s peachy”. His voice was high strung, from emotions, but Sirius of course blamed it on coffee.

They went their separate ways, Vic and Sirius both having thanked Remus. An unknown, understood feeling passed between them. Somehow everyone knew Sirius was feeling much more relaxed now despite the caffeine high. And Remus had something to do with it. The next day’s practise was much better thankfully which meant his coach left him alone for the rest of the evening. And Sirius could spend his evening thinking about how to handle this situation with Remus. Should he try to become friends with Remus. Would it work? Courting Remus (for at least his friendship) would most certainly be worth it. But was he ready to play that tournament? Sirius wasn't so sure of himself.


	10. Remus Finds Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remus tries to talk to Sirius over dinner. And Sirius ends up saying more through his eyes than he intends to...

The tournament started. James was on fire and Sirius was scraping through the rounds. His coach had had enough and he said as much. After a particularly difficult and bad third round, he was under severe firing from the coach.

His parents has been informed that his game was fine but his mind was somewhere else. That was never a good idea but thankfully they didn’t press the matter. They thought it was to do with Vic being around and Sirius being distracted, which meant a good thing. After it was a royal distraction. Vic was also concerned about Sirius’s game. 

Sirius had said he wanted to be left alone in order to get his focus back. He was swimming and felt a lot calmer. And in walked Remus with his characteristic smile. He approached Sirius who wanted to drown. He had lost badly and it was bad enough that he had to listen to his coach, mum, dad and uncles. 

Now he had to face Remus. He was hoping Remus wouldn’t bring up the match but somehow he knew that the man had intentionally walked into the pool area. “Hey Sirius, how are we doing?” Remus asked casually. No point pretending thought Sirius.“Well, as well as you can expect under the circumstance” Sirius responded, hoping he didn’t show as much as frustration as he felt. 

“Hmm…are you finished here?” Remus enquired “Lets grab a light bite, shall we?” Remus said. Sirius couldn’t help but wonder why Remus felt confident that his offer was not going to be declined. Of course, it was not going to be, but Sirius both liked and not, that Remus seemed sure of how Sirius would respond. 

Sirius got out of the water and suddenly felt very self conscious. Remus seemed to notice and teased him with a glance followed by a smirk. Sirius was going to become a puddle if the man didn’t stop. He quickly threw on his towel. “Give me 10 minutes”, he croaked and disappeared into the shower. He came out wearing a casual black T shirt and blue denims, looking relaxed from the swim and the shower. 

He noticed Remus looking at him and smiling as he walked up. He felt self conscious again and cursed mentally to behave normally. He was going to try to be friends with Remus after all and this wouldn’t do. Remus nodded as he reached and they walked out in companionable silence for a bit. 

They made some small talk about Teddy and Vic and few other topics. “Do you have to be back soon? Or do you have some time?” Remus asked. Sirius was a little confused about the question but just shrugged and said he didn’t have anything particular to do. “I would like to take you to a cafe, its my friends’ actually. It would be a nice change for you, if you don’t mind that is.” Remus said. Sirius knew it was a friendly invitation and not what he wanted it to be, but hey no harm imagining. After all it was very likely, only ever going to go the way he wanted it to, in his imagination. 

“Sure, it should be nice.” Sirius tried his hardest to come off casual. They were going to drive down to this cafe, which was about 15minutes from the hotel. More small talk ensued, mostly about how messy Remus’s car was as opposed to his perfectly, almost obssessively clean his own car was. What Sirius didn’t tell him was how cosy it felt to be in Remus’s car; how he could record and play on repeat Remus’s laughter instead of the Bach’s and Mozarts that usually played in his car; or how he would happily drive on till eternity with and in Remus’s car. 

He realised that he was lost in those thoughts when Remus shook him and asked him to get out. They were already there? Sirius hid his disappointment and put on a big smile as they entered the cafe. A tall, athletic looking cute girl, her golden blonde in a really close pixie cut, gave Remus a big hug and Sirius a wide grin. “Hey Remus. Finally, you remembered us? Hey Sirius. James called and said you were coming.” She said. “Ow ya goin’,” a typical Australian voice called from behind. Sirius jumped slightly. “Crikey, don’t scare the fella here,” Remus replied easily. Sirius turned around to see a tall man, also witathletically built, curls in close cut, with bright blue eyes coming in to hug Remus. “This is Alice, and this one here is Frank” Remus made introductions “And you guys know Sirius Black, of course.” 

“Yes, of course. He is only the best Tennis player, ever,” Frank said with so much affection that Sirius couldn’t help smile and a little emotional. Remus was smiling and then added a little sarcastically, “Yes, yes and the best Tennis player, ever, is starving.” Alice and Frank laughed, as Alice led them to their table. They then asked after Teddy and made some talk with Remus, as Sirius watched on, their easy camaradrie flowing easily. 

They handed over the menu to Sirius and went on to attend to other customers. Even though Sirius was famous and everyone there probably instantly recognised him, he was grateful that no one had approached him yet. He loved his fans and was usually very friendly but right now he didn’t feel like interacting. 

“Alice is actually Greek. Well her parents moved here when they were 20 and she is as Aussie as Aussie can be. But you know she is very proud of her Greek ancestry. And, that is most evident in her food. If you like mediterranean, try their moussaka. Its the best in Melbourne and consequently in the country.” Remus was looking at Sirius who was pretending to study the menu, in order to not stare at Remus. 

They ordered, Sirius the Moussaka and Remus the salad. Frank placed a big basket of delicious break and a huge dish of tzatziki, which was apparently for Remus’s benefit. To say, Remus was a fan of tzatziki, was a bit of understatement, learnt Sirius.   
“Sirius, “ started Remus after a mouthful of bread and tzatziki washed down with a big swirl of his wine, “mate, are you alright?”. There it comes. Sirius gulped his own wine down. He didn’t have a match tomorrow so one glass was ok. “Yes, I am” Sirius said, “You didn’t convince even the cutlery on the table, Sirius” Remus sighed. “Its nothing.” Sirius was terse. “Hey, I told you, if you want to talk I am always here. If its something I or anyone else can help with, Sirius, you only need to ask. You know that right?” He continued. 

“Yes, Remus, I do. But its not anything…” but before Sirius could say anything further Remus cut him off “C’mon Sirius. Don't insult our intelligence by saying its nothing. If you don’t want to talk about it, its ok. But clearly it is affecting you and its affecting your game and potentially your career. We care and we only want to help, if we can.” 

Sirius didn't say anything and avoided looking at Remus. ““You seemed really upset the other day. Is someone bothering you?” Remus was determined. He didn’t seem in any mood to drop it. “What is it Sirius?” Sirius was surprised that Remus was not afraid to press and he was even more surprised that he wasn’t having another outburst. He wasn’t even trying to get angry at Remus pushing him to talk. And they didn’t even know each other that well, yet.

Sirius let out a deep sigh “I don’t know Remus. I don’t know, anything, anymore. I am distracted but I don’t know what I want.” Sirius said, the last line not completely honestly though. He knew what he wanted but he wasn’t sure if he should ask for it.   
“Is it about Vic?” asked Remus. “No. Maybe. Its not really about her but it sort of is.” Sirius’ anguish apparent in his voice. 

After a small silence and many gulps of the wine, the food arrived. Frank and Alice once again stopped over to make some small talk and enquire if Sirius liked the food and everything else. Sirius politely replied that he thought it was one of the best Mediterranean he has had. 

“Sirius, Vic is a nice girl. She will understand if you think you are not sure about where you are headed. Don’t you think?” Remus continued. “Not that it is my business, but I, we can all see that you are distracted. Lily and James have been going on about how unhappy you seem.” Remus added. 

‘I am not unhappy, Remus. That’s not what it is. I am confused.” Remus waited for Sirius to continue, which he did after a long pause “I know Vic is a nice girl. I was, I am perfectly content with her and my situation in life.” Another pause as Remus patiently waited for him to go on. Damn, he was a good listener, another thing to add to the list about Remus he was NOT keeping. “What does one do when they find their life is going along perfectly content. Perfectly planned, perfectly executed. Bam… suddenly they come across some o.…thing…that could possibly their life upside down?” Sirius asked cautiously. 

“Hmmm…depends. I would say, think about what you stand to gain if you went for this thing and what would the cost of gaining it be. Will what you gain be worth what you lose? We can’t win all, you know. Sorry, I know I am preaching.” Remus gave a small smile, looking intently at Sirius.

Sirius was staring at Remus too, probably for a bit too long but Remus didn’t seem to notice. “Lily will say listen to your heart and James will say go for it mate.” Remus added, laughing his full laugh that made Sirius’s spine tingle. “Are you worried about hurting Vic?” Remus asked. Did Remus know? 

As though he had read his thoughts Remus added “I don’t know what or who this thing is, but its clear that its going to be a change for you. And when we come across these stages we are always worried about hurting the ones closest to us. But we might be surprised sometimes at how they might react.” Sirius wasn’t sure how Vic would react, but he had a good idea of how his parents would react if they found out. And it would definitely be to no ones surprise. 

“Sirius, this thing, whatever it is, is hurting you. It is distracting you from your career, from everything you have built so far. And that’s going to hurt everyone around you, you know. So, sort it out mate.”

“Ok. And lets say I go for it, what if I can’t get what I want?” Sirius challenged. “I will lose everything, including what I want.”

“Well, what’s life without a little risk, Sirius. Who knows that better than you. Its like a game of tennis isn’t it. If you lose this set, doesn’t mean you can’t go back and win the match.” Remus said and smiled sheepishly at the analogy he had used. It was little corny but Sirius found even that about Remus adorable. Sirius smiled and simply nodded. 

The rest of dinner was finished in silence. They chatted about other things including Remus’ favourite music and his trip to Greece with Alice. “Here try the baklava”, he pushed his plate towards Sirius. “You know Mia loved travelling. And she had such a sweet tooth. She wanted to travel to every part of the world and try out all the traditional sweets from all over the world. When we went to Greece, Mia and me had just started seeing each other. She made me cycle through the night to satisfy her sweet cravings.. It was the best holiday of our lives.” Remus reminisced as little sadly. 

Sirius wanted to comfort him but he also felt awkward about the mention of Mia. He didn’t know what to say to Remus, but Remus seemed to understand Sirius’ awkwardness. He didn’t seem to expect anything from Sirius. 

They headed out, Remus paying for the dinner absolutely shouting down both Sirius’ request to pay and Frank’s insistence on the dinner being on the house. 

“Thanks Remus. I appreciate the talk.” Sirius said a little formally. Remus once again smiled and pulled him into a hug. It was too much for Sirius. He clung on to Remus for a while and as they slowly pulled out the hug, Sirius, his face so close to Remus’s, could hear and feel Remus’s breath. He stared at his lips and then into his eyes and kept staring for what seemed like eternity. 

As they slowly pulled apart, he thought he saw something flash across Remus’s face. Something that seemed like an understanding. Remus understood then what the thing Sirius wanted the most was and why it was causing him so much stress. Everything fell in place. They stood there, both rooted to their places, staring at each other for a little while longer. 

Sirius’s phone went off, breaking the non verbal conversation between the guys. “Hey, I am just heading back to the hotel. See you soon” Sirius responded to the voice on the other end, which Remus knew was Vic. “I need the walk back after that dinner. Bye Remus.” Sirius left, Remus just stood staring at him. 

Sirius walked really fast, almost jogging back to the hotel. Tears rolling down his face, out of relief, embarrassment, pain and fear. What was going to happen now. Remus would never see him again. He would tell James and Lily. They will not want to talk to Sirius either. Will Remus also tell Vic? Sirius was an idiot. He knew this was going to happen. He knew it was stupid, he knew Remus would reject him. Sirius stopped and took a deep breath as he reached the hotel. Avoiding everyone’s gaze he rushed into the empty elevators, went to his room and straight to the bathroom. He locked himself up and cried for hours. Only coming out when he knew Vic was asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like it, let me know! if you don't, also let me know!


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